Meet Coach Cardi
Growing up in Minnesota, wrestling and football were where I learned who I wanted to become. By the time I graduated high school, I’d won four state titles and was named MWCA’s 2021 Mr. Minnesota, but none of that came from talent alone. It came from training like the guy I wanted to be long before I actually became him.
That mentality followed me to South Dakota State University, where I spent four years as a Division I starter, qualified for the NCAA Championships, and placed in the Big 12 twice, all while earning Academic All-American honors three times along the way. When I graduated, coaching wasn’t a backup plan. It was always the goal. I’d already spent years running camps and clinics, working with wrestlers who wanted more than just accolades; they wanted to also build the mentality of a champion. That’s what Cardi Performance is built to give every athlete who walks through the door.
The person is the performance.
Being a student-athlete for over a decade taught me something no medal ever could: the trials you go through, injuries, tough competition, the moments where quitting would’ve been easier, are what actually shape you. I’ve been hurt. I’ve lost matches I should’ve won. I’ve had seasons that didn’t go the way I planned. But every one of those moments became a defining point where I had to decide who I wanted to be and keep fighting for it.
That’s where this mission comes from. It’s not about chasing a trophy. It’s about the mentality you build getting there, the hard work that shows up in the results, and never losing sight of why you fell in love with your sport in the first place. My job as a coach isn’t to hand you a shortcut. It’s to help you build the same mentality that got me through every setback, so you can chase your own goals with a purpose bigger than the scoreboard.
Don’t wait until you’re a champion to train like one. Don’t wait until you’re a college athlete to train like one. Don’t wait until you’re the best to train like the best. The mentality has to come first. The results are just catching up to the work you’ve already put in.
What this is really built on
Underneath all of it, the training, the coaching, the competing, is my faith, and it’s not something I keep separate from the work. It’s the foundation the whole thing stands on. Titles fade, results come and go, but who you become in the process is what actually stands.
This is about who you become in the process and the relationships you build along the way. For me, coaching isn’t just about programming and technique. It’s about being there for each athlete personally and helping put something bigger than the sport at the center of it all.
That’s part of why, every week, I will open my doors to any and all athletes for a free Bible study. No cost, no pressure, just a space to grow into who you’re becoming, on and off the mat.
